How to Stop Traffic

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How to Stop Traffic

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Floor it and say cheese. The Man saw you run that red light and has a picture to prove it. Cops say traffic cameras make intersections safer; opponents say faulty cams nail law-abiding citizens and that better engineering, like longer yellow lights, would actually stop traffic (which is the whole point). Prefer to opt out? It might be possible to hack a license plate - or traffic itself.

These devices might be illegal in your state. Wired didn't risk any lives to test them, and neither should you.

SnapShot Blocker: Red-light cameras capture license plates from an angle, not straight on. The Photoshield plastic lens, a repurposed diffusion grating made by 3M, fits over a plate and distorts its image more than 5 degrees off axis. The idea is that spycams won't be able to see the license. www.phantomplate.com

Stoplight Tripper: The Mobile Infrared Transmitter plugs into a car's cigarette lighter. It flashes a dashboard-mounted xenon strobe emulating signals from emergency vehicles, which can change some traffic lights from red to green (and the opposing light to red). www.themirt.com